Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: The Golden Triangle holiday in India

Environment

We start this trip with a visit to a potters community on the outskirts of Delhi. Here, families work together using traditional methods to create pottery items both for every day use and as pieces of art. One of the most interesting products they create is ceramic water bottles. These help keep the water cool throughout the hot days and reduces the use of plastic.

One of the hotels we use on the trip adopts and array of green practices that are designed to protect the environment. These include reducing, reusing and recycling water - including using special taps that reduce flow rate in all rooms, cleaning with eco-friendly products that do not contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment and encouraging their guests to reuse bed linen and towels.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

Community

Although this trip takes us on a relatively well-trodden route, we ensure that we find ways to benefit the local communities along the way. For part of our exploration of Delhi we hire local cycle rickshaws, providing a much needed source of income to the rickshaw riders. We also visit several local street food venues, giving our customers the chance to try out this very typical Indian way of eating on the move, and again supporting the small local businesses of the city.

With a high level of local expertise, passion for their country, and a desire to enable traveller experience all it has to offer, our Indian tour leaders encourage supporting grass roots businesses and eating in local restaurants. Our annual tour leader training course includes a strong focus on responsible tourism practices, ensuring that our trips run in accordance with our code of practice. For example, at the start of each trip they provide guidance concerning local customs and culture so as to ensure that local sensibilities are understood and respected.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.